Rumour: Toyota Yaris Ativ to replace Etios in 2020

This is a discussion on Rumour: Toyota Yaris Ativ to replace Etios in 2020 within The Indian Car Scene, part of the BHP India category; The sedan will then replace the Etios, which is aglobal model and with added advantage of YARIS brand that is ...

The sedan will then replace the Etios, which is aglobal model and with added advantage of YARIS brand that is widely known.

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Looking ahead, we also anticipate the model to enter new major markets such as Argentina, Brazil and India. Potential sales in these countries would be the catalyst behind the Vios’s future growth.

Question yet unknown is whether Yaris Ativ will replace Vios in the long run globally as Vios is dependent on China and South-East Asia markets.

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Regardless of which of the two models Toyota selects as its new subcompact sedan in India, be it the Vios or the Yaris Ativ, this will serve to fill the gap left by the demise of the Etios — which we anticipate to be phased out by 2020.

The wheels look downright puny, in comparison with the rest of the body shell.

There is bleak chance that this will replace the Etios.
At best, it may be positioned above the Etios, in the Honda City segment, if at all Toyota wakes up and decides to launch anything in the first place.

I hope there's some meat to the news as Toyota desperately needs a modern replacement for the Liva & Etios. Both felt outdated at the time of their launch in 2010, and they feel like vintage cars today. In the time that the same Etios has been on sale, Maruti has sold THREE different generations of the Dzire . What does that tell you? Speed, frequent upgrades & contemporary products are key to volumes in India.

Why 2020? Do they really need to think for another 3 years to launch a car which is already on sale in Asia? I remember some senior person in Toyota India (in)famously making a comment (around the time of Etios launch) that India is not ready for a premium car like the Yaris. India is ready and is already having much better cars in the market; wonder when Toyota will be ready!

Why 2020? Do they really need to think for another 3 years to launch a car which is already on sale in Asia? I remember some senior person in Toyota India (in)famously making a comment (around the time of Etios launch) that India is not ready for a premium car like the Yaris. India is ready and is already having much better cars in the market; wonder when Toyota will be ready!

Since when did the Yaris become a premium car?
In EU/UK markets it competes with the Polo, Corsa, Fiesta (Hatch), i20 etc.
This category is called "supermini" class, there is no premium associated there.

If VW can make the Polo, & Hyundai can make the i20 as well, in India, then why can't toyota make the Yaris here?

Even though a Toyota fan, I don't know whether to laugh or not at Toyota keeping the Etios for a full 10 year model cycle.

And the Yaris Ativ looks like the perfect replacement for the Etios, and I think the pricing would be bang on.

Why you may ask, citing Toyota's Indian pricing history.

1. It's based on the Yaris/Vios platform introduced in 2013 and about to be phased out next year.
2. It is already cheaper than City, Ciaz and Sunny in the ASEAN markets. So Toyota can price it at par or at a slight Toyota premium and still be competitive.

Only reason for Toyota to price the Yaris Aktiv at even more premium is if at all they decide to launch the all new Yaris hatchback in India. Since hatchback > sedan in India, they would be forced to price the Yaris Aktiv even more to make space for the new platform Yaris hatchback. That is if they bring the Yaris hatch at all.

Hugely disappointed with Toyota's approach in the sub 10 lakh segment.
All these years and they could only come up with the Yaris Aktiv for India, and that too in 2020, when logically the third generation of Etios should have been revealed by now.

If VW can make the Polo, & Hyundai can make the i20 as well, in India, then why can't toyota make the Yaris here?

There is something brewing much faster than we think in Toyota-Suzuki-Mazda in the future products( basically Hybrids-EV). Suzuki cars could be built and manufactured for Toyota for exports.
However in India the scenario how they compete is not clear.

ACI speculates the next GEN SWIFT will be a joint effort of Suzuki- Toyota!

Is it just me or it looks similar to the Nissan Sunny ? I don't think Toyota is interested to sell any car which doesn't have FAT margins which means nothing below D segment. Whether they bother to replace Etios is questionable as cab market has tasted Sub 4m cars with decent interiors/reliability at reasonable price.

Since when did the Yaris become a premium car?
In EU/UK markets it competes with the Polo, Corsa, Fiesta (Hatch), i20 etc.
This category is called "supermini" class, there is no premium associated there.

If VW can make the Polo, & Hyundai can make the i20 as well, in India, then why can't toyota make the Yaris here?

Well, that's the whole point. The Etios twins were just born old. Instead of those, Toyota should have got the Yaris (against the i20, Jazz) and Vios in the City, Verna space. Looks like they still need a couple of years to decide

Since when did the Yaris become a premium car?
In EU/UK markets it competes with the Polo, Corsa, Fiesta (Hatch), i20 etc.
This category is called "supermini" class, there is no premium associated there.

If VW can make the Polo, & Hyundai can make the i20 as well, in India, then why can't toyota make the Yaris here?

Can you blame them? They've been able to successfully transition an abuse friendly people carrier to a premium product in a little over a decade, and the SUV version of the same product was sold as a premium offering from day 1.

This way when it is finally launched they've left the door open to price it slightly higher than the competition. Assuming that fit and finish will be higher than the Baleno, Toyota can post a very real and very dangerous threat to say something like the Jazz.

Let's not forget they still get to bank on great brand perception. The Etios twins are still seen by most people as aberrations, Toyota's attempt at making a budget car, don't think the brand is burdened with any baggage whatsoever. In any segement - apart from luxury cars - if Toyota has a par product, it should do well, the brand is able to carry it.

Toyota is not launching this car (or any car to replace Etios) by 2020!

Have full faith in Toyota to not deviate from what they have practiced since 1999 (or 98) - when they started selling the Qualis!

And even if they did, in 3 years time -

1. There will be so many more products from Maruti, Hyundai, Tata, Kia, etc in this segment.

2. Toyota will price it in a manner that people will be able to buy 2 Dzires for 1 Toyota! (exaggeration intentional!)

3. Seeing market shift to SUVs (the mini ones & others!), the volume in this segment might drop significantly! Technically, success in the segment (if there is one for Toyota) may not mean anything at all.

Every time I look at a new Toyota, I like Suzuki designs more. I don't know what tastes these Toyota guys have really. Life is not really a cartoon film while it can be analogous. The cars are straight out from cartoon strips sometimes! Its not that hard to make a car look good while still keeping costs down & profits high.

Neither do they have a crisis situation like Mahindra where they have to purposefully make the TUV300 look a bit odd so that it doesn't kill off their own Scorpio first.

If they indeed launch it here, they'll certainly try to market it as a "premium" product. And I would bet on it failing in that case against City-Verya-Ciaz triad. This one will be by far the ugliest against the competition.

India continues to be a market where global brands sell their cheap cars as "premium offerings". A Yaris!

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Originally Posted by sabby_4c

Is it just me or it looks similar to the Nissan Sunny ?

Bull's eye! From the front-side angle it indeed has the silhouette like the Sunny/Scala. Unmistakable. Good catch.

India continues to be a market where global brands sell their cheap cars as "premium offerings". A Yaris!

Not quite right, I think. Because :-

a. Qualis to Innova was a quantum jump.

b. Corolla to Corolla Altis was a great design upgrade.

Same applies to Camry and Landcruiser. Even the Fortuner was good looking (even now it is) when it was launched.

I agree with you to the extent that the subsequent iterations of Innova aren't visually pleasant. (Even the Prado is somewhat 'cartoonish' as you have pointed out :-))

Etios probably didn't get the same attention to details as its siblings did!

The second part of your post answers this post -

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Originally Posted by abhishek46

Since when did the Yaris become a premium car?
In EU/UK markets it competes with the Polo, Corsa, Fiesta (Hatch), i20 etc.
This category is called "supermini" class, there is no premium associated there.

A Skoda or a BMW or an Audi or a Merc is commonly used as a 'TAXI' in EU as well as some of the Asian countries as well (not trying to demean the cars - they are really good models). The same cars are at the top-end or luxury items here.

No wonder other global car makers follow suit and sell their offerings as 'premium' models....

A Skoda or a BMW or an Audi or a Merc is commonly used as a 'TAXI' in EU as well as some of the Asian countries as well (not trying to demean the cars - they are really good models). The same cars are at the top-end or luxury items here.

No wonder other global car makers follow suit and sell their offerings as 'premium' models....

The catch is - the CxOs in the western world also use BMW, AUDI and MB. They don't use a Toyota Yaris. Taxis are not a cheap mode of transport at all in Europe as a fact.

A premium car doesn't become economy grade just because its used as a taxi. That is also proven by the pretty high priced Innova in India also.

I'm pointing to normal cars being sold with ultra high premium costs but with even worse equipment than in market of origin. Duster, Lodgy, Etios, Fabia/Polo...the list goes on. And yes - all of them, Toyota included, also sell outdated generation models in India.

Anyway - I was complaining about all of them in general already and not specifically Toyota. But "they did it, so whats the problem if I do it too?" is an excuse that should work only in school years...

The most important of the two new models is the Yaris Ativ sedan because it is going to replace the popular Etios sedan in India. The Ativ is retailed in Thailand as an alternative to the Nissan Sunny, Honda City, and Suzuki Ciaz.

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In Thailand, the new Yaris Ativ is powered only be a 1.2-liter gasoline engine that produces 87 HP and 108 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a CVT automatic gearbox or a 5-speed manual. However, in other markets, the sedan will also receive a 110 HP 1.5-liter and a 1.4-liter diesel with 90 HP and 205 Nm.

The Yaris Ativ petrol will return around 11 km/l in the city and around 14km/l on the highway. The auto version will have a mileage of 9km/l in the city and around 12km/l on the open road. The diesel will return 13km/l in the city and 18km/l on the highway.